Village Vancouver Newsletter and Calendar of Events
August 2012
Welcome to the August 2012 edition of the Village Vancouver monthly newsletter and Calendar of Events!
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| The first-ever Village Vancouver Transition Society AGM was held on July 17, 2012 |
We hope you've all been having a great summer, whether here in Vancouver or elsewhere!
If you're in town this month, there are lots on interesting things to do in August. For example, why not go on an Earthwalk in your neighbourhood, and learn to see your surroundings from a different perspective. Or if you live on the Westside, why not shop the community way by popping into your local pocket market on Thursdays from 4-7 pm at 8th and Vine.
There's plenty to learn as well! Food forest genius Richard Walker will be in Vancouver from August 24th to 26th, offering both an evening talk and weekend course that can teach you anything you need to know about planting your very own food forest. Or maybe the time is right to finally get your permaculture design certification - if so, there is a course starting August 20th at UBC Farm! September is just around the corner, and you may want to consider taking one of Langara College's Social Ecology courses in ecological landscape design, urban permaculture design, organic master gardening and sustainable transportation.
Happy reading, and see you in September!
Your August newsletter team,
Jordan, Sharon and Ross
The seedy world of art and money
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| On August 2nd, Vancouver came one step closer to having its first community currency, Seedstock. The Seedstock Project held its "Art as Money as Art" event at the W2 Media Café to feature the designs that have been submitted by local artists and may appear on the first Seedstock paper bills! Results to be announced soon. To find out more about Seedstock Community Currency, visit www.seedstock.ca. |
Village Vancouver Quick Updates
- Village Vancouver held its first ever Annual General Meeting as a society on July 17th! Thanks to everyone who participated, and congratulations to our newest elected board members Diane Macqueen (Secretary) and Thomas Moore (elected to a 2-year term as an at-large director). Village founder Ross Moster was re-elected as President, Ann Pacey as Vice President, and Randy Chatterjee as Treasurer. Beth Carruthers, Dana Wilson, Jacquie Miller, Jason Mertz, and Jordan Bober were all re-elected as Directors at large.
- Special thanks to our outgoing directors Leslie Kemp and Shelby Tay! Both have served as active members of the Village Vancouver Steering Committee (which became the Board of Directors once Village was granted Society status) for many years, playing key roles in getting Village Vancouver to where it is today. They will be missed on the board, but both will continue to be active in Village Vancouver and engaged in important community work. Best of luck in all your future endeavours, Leslie and Shelby!
- Have you joined the Village Vancouver community by joining our website? We hope you'll consider becoming a member of the Village Vancouver Transition Society as well, making our movement even stronger! It's easy to join - just click here!
Peak Oil Preparation - What *Else* To Think About
August 19, 2012 from 5pm to 8pm
Kitsilano (RSVP for address)
Fall 2012 Social Ecology Courses
Langara College Continuing Studies, Sustainable Communities Program
Come join us this Fall to gain skills and practical experience in creating healthy organic gardens and sustainable food and transportation systems. We offer four dynamic and interactive courses led by experienced instructors, rooted in the understanding that all organisms in nature are interdependent, and in order to have a healthy planet we must foster the health of our entire ecosystem.
1. Ecological Landscape Design – Part I*
2. Organic Master Gardener *
3. Urban Permaculture Design
4. Transportation Transformation: Sustainable Transportation for Your Community
* These courses partially satisfy the requirements for the Gaia College Diploma in Organic Land Care.
Registration and Information
For dates, course fees and instructor bios, please visit:
To register, call Langara College Continuing Studies at 604.323.5981. www.langara.bc.ca/continuing-studies
For information, contact Sonja Embree at 604.323.5931 or sembree@langara.bc.ca
Course Info Sessions
To learn more about the plant/gardening courses and meet the instructors, attend our upcoming Info Sessions:
1. Ecological Landscape Design – Part I* (Tues, Sep 4, 6-7pm; Rm. A218)
2. Organic Master Gardener * (Tues, Sep 4, 7-8pm; Rm. A218)
3. Urban Permaculture Design (Wed, Sep 5, 6-7pm; Rm. A218)
Langara College, 100 West 49th Ave, Vancouver
Vancouver Summer Food Forestry with Richard Walker
Course Aug 25-26 - Register NOW
Food forest gardening is a method of gardening based on natural forest systems that, when mature, need little to no fertilizing, watering or maintenance.
Richard is one of Canada's most experienced food foresters. His food forest was and is so successful that as students we can save years of trial and error by learning from him. This course attracts some of the leaders in the fields of permaculture, organic gardening, food forestry, urban homesteading and sustainability. The wealth of knowledge brought by the course participants will add to this unique opportunity to learn, share and network with others involved with regenerative land care.
What really adds to Richard’s credibility is that he lives as he teaches. He lives simply, creatively using his skills to bring food from the soil to the table and in doing so teaches us how food and plants create a culture of true sustainability, or in his own words “gardening for one thousand years”.
This event is being offered in partnership with Village Vancouver and Langara College. It is Saturday and Sunday August 25-26, 9am-5pm both days, and will take place at Langara College. Cost of $300. Register NOW by clicking here.
And you won't want to miss...
A Vancouver Food Forestry Evening with Richard Walker
August 24, 2012, 6:30pm to 9pm, Langara College. $15.
Richard will give a 1 1/2 hour talk on food forests and why they are such an essential piece of food sovereignty(and why they're wicked cool) and then 30 whole minutes for questions on everything from why your 10 year old plum tree looks so weary to what's the 4 most valuable medicinal plants to grow.
Reserve your seat by contacting Langara College directly: 604-323-5511 (main switchboard) or 604-323-5322 (Continuing Studies).
Westside Community Food Markets
There’s lots of ways to get involved in this great project and enjoy evenings with your community. Sign up as a volunteer by sending us an email with your interest and availability. We are also still seeking vendors selling locally grown or processed food and people with food and community expertise who want to run 'sidewalk activities'.
Please contact Oliver at admin@spec.bc.ca or 604 736 7732 OR Zsuzsi at zsuzsi@kitshouse.org or 604 736 3588 ext. 31
Earthwalks in Vancouver - Summer and Fall 2012
We live in the city of Vancouver with almost a million residents. We are blessed to be surrounded by mountains, forests, oceans and rivers. But how well do we know the nature in our own backyard? The natural world is present everywhere – from the gardens of Kitsilano to the Lost Streams of False Creek to the Mighty Fraser River and even at the local shopping centre!
Please join us for this exciting series of free walks this summer and fall. The leaders are amazingly knowledgeable in their specialty. So come along to listen to their words, connect with the land and ask lots of questions! Click here for more details!
Please join us for this exciting series of free walks this summer and fall. The leaders are amazingly knowledgeable in their specialty. So come along to listen to their words, connect with the land and ask lots of questions! Click here for more details!
Permaculture Design Certification Course @ UBC Farm
Design Solutions for Sustainable Food, Building and Community Systems.
Fifteen unforgettable days over three weeks in Vancouver and surrounding bioregion.
Internationally recognized certification with UBC student credit available.
August 20 - Sept 10th, $975 - $1275
Call-out for Volunteers
As Village Vancouver grows, we're finding that some of our infrastructure is due for an upgrade! For example, we have received feedback from many of you saying that our website would benefit from a makeover that would make it easier to navigate and use, and we are interested in exploring other ways that we can use IT to make our activities easier and more effective.
Are you knowledgeable about web design and/or development or information technology generally? Would you like like to be able to leverage your skills to help further the Transition movement in the Lower Mainland? If so, please get in touch with us at volunteer@villagevancouver.ca! We would certainly appreciate your help.
Even if you're not an IT-afficionado, there are many other ways we could use your help! If you could be interested in volunteering with Village Vancouver, please fill out this form to let us know a bit about yourself.
